Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio Congressman who stood against the usurpations of the Lincoln Administration and was arrested and exiled for his convictions. This book, like few others, exposes the despotic character of the sixteenth President and the fanatical agenda of the Republican party from a distinctly Northern perspective. His speech entitled “Executive Usurpation,” delivered in the House of Representatives in response to Lincoln’s 4 July 1861 address to Congress, is not to be missed.